Seeing "lock out" in print, JonWB brings back shivvers.

My former company had a strike, some of the "strikers" had been told they were not legally ready to strike and couldn't go out with the other union that had strike approval and had to wait 2 days for their union to clear it.

They went anyway. Illegally. Smashing equipment up on the way out. They by and large were an extremely militant and uncommunicative bunch, and nobody could reach them to talk reason.

They were locked out.

Their electronic badges were turned off at the computer.

They never entered the building again.

The company kept them on payroll for 12 months with full benefits. But they never worked a day again. If after 12 months they hadn't found a job they were given a very generous redundancy cash package based on years of service with medical benefits for 5 years.

And the company's hands were clean because after being lockied out they didn't abandon them. They just got RID Of them for cause and the hard cord problematic militants were gone and the rest got on with business, after the original striking union called the strike off after one day and a good agreement was fixed.

See any parallels? That's why I've been interested in this, besides having a half million miles with BA.

I've seen what a company can do to people who behave outside the box and self-destruct.

It does happen.

Lock out? Yiiiiiiiiiiikes. Ugh.